Late-Life Mood Disorders

Description

This book contains a comprehensive review of the current research advances in late life mood disorders. This detailed review reflects the new understanding of neurobiology and psychosocial origins of geriatric mood disorders in the first decade of the 21st Century and is provided by the international group of leading experts in the field. The review of the latest developments and "gold standards" of care or methodologies in geriatric mood disorders is complemented by the anticipated future directions of research and translation into clinical practice. Our volume targets a broad audience of clinical researchers and clinicians. The content of the book will increase clinicians' and researcher's competency in recent research findings, and broaden their diagnostic and
therapeutic perspectives and power of observation that will prepare them to deal with the challenges of finding appropriate effective treatments for older adults with mood disorders. The discussion of the data is presented in a textbook format and can be used for training of students of geriatric mental health. Individual chapters can be used as references on a particular topic for interested individuals, and obtained online. Clinicians and researchers who are dedicated to the treatment and study of mood disorders in older people might consider this volume an essential part of their library.

Late-Life Mood Disorders

Author Information

Dr. Helen Lavretsky is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, a geriatric psychiatrist with the research interest in geriatric depression and caregiver stress, as well as complementary and alternative medicine and mind-body approaches to treatment and prevention of disorders in older adults. She is a recipient of the two Career Development awards from NIMH and other prestigious research awards. Her current research include clinical and translational studies of geriatric depression and caregiver stress, as well as complementary and alternative interventions for stress reduction in older adults.

Dr. Sajatovic is Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland,
Ohio. She is a researcher, educator, and clinician who has devoted herself to the study and treatment of traditionally hard-to treat populations with serious mental illness. Dr. Sajatovic is Director of Geropsychiatry at University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) and holds the Willard Brown Chair in Neurological Outcomes at UHCMC/Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Dr. Charles F. Reynolds III, M.D. is the UPMC Professor of Geriatric Psychiatry; and professor of neurology and neuroscience; Senior Associate Dean University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and professor of behavioral and community health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Scientist
Award and a MERIT award for studies of "Maintenance Therapies in Late Life Depression," Dr. Reynolds has twice been named one of The Best Doctors in America and has received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Contributors:

Contributors

Howard J. Aizenstein, MD, PhDDepartment of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational SciencesUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; andDepartment of BioengineeringUniversity of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA

John Flournoy Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, CA; and Sierra-Pacific Mental Illness research and Education CenterDepartment of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto, CA

Late-Life Mood Disorders

Reviews and Awards

"The editors of this volume, themselves well-known experts in late life mood disorders, have accumulated an amazingly diverse and competent group of authors for this effort. The result is what must be for years to come the go to volume for a comprehensive and critical review of this significant public health burden for elders. An additional strength of the volume is the appropriately broad range of topics covered, from the basic neuropathology underlying late life depression and its variants to an excellent review of care systems. Therapeutic modalities are not neglected and reflect significant advances in both individual therapies and integrative models now available to practitioners. In summary, this volume is not only up to date, it is also unique in its breadth and
depth. A must reference for the geriatric mental health workforce." -- Dan G. Blazer MD, PhD, JP Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center

"As the number of people age 60 years and older triples over the next four decades, Late-Life Mood Disorders will become an essential resource not only for specialists and students, but also for general psychiatrists who will be seeing a greater number of older adults with geriatric mental disorders. The editors have brought together the leading experts in the field to provide a comprehensive, scholarly, and accessible volume that elucidates the relevant science and offers practical clinical guidance." -- Gary Small, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Parlow-Solomon Professor on Aging; Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Division and the UCLA Longevity Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California,
Los Angeles

"The editors, who are among the leading researchers in this field, have done an outstanding job in bringing together the leading experts in the field of late-life mood disorders. The in-depth, up-to-date chapters incorporate a practical focus on clinical comorbidities and patient and caregiver issues, in addition to providing clear directions for future research in this fastest growing age group in the general population. This book represents an outstanding review of the current status of this field and should rapidly become the standard reference for mood disorders in the elderly." -- D.P. Devanand, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Neurology, Director, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University

"The demographic imperative of a rapidly rising elderly population with a high prevalence of mood disorders makes this a most compelling topic. Moreover, the old adage that "Geriatric Psychiatry is General Psychiatry only moreso" is exemplified by this textbook's comprehensive approach to complex late-life mood disorders...Comprehensive, convenient and current - this is an essential resource for students, clinicians, researchers and decision-makers. It provides a treasure trove of information on mood disorders in an important and growing patient population within a convenient, one-stop shopping textbook. Congratulations to the editors and to Oxford University Press." -- Kenneth I. Shulman, MD, FRCPsych, Richard Lewar Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health
Sciences Centre, University of Toronto

"This comprehensive book is an excellent guide to the current scientific knowledge about late-life mood disorders. All clinicians involved in the care of older adults should be familiar with the information it contains." -- Doody's

"This new textbook is an authoritative presentation of our current understanding of mood disorders in older people. It addresses a gap in the market by presenting an up-to-date overview of our current state of knowledge in an expanding field of research." -- Psychological Medicine

Late-Life Mood Disorders

From Our Blog

By Helen Lavretsky, M.D., M.S.
There is currently extensive use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) -- also known as integrative or mind-body medicine -- in the United States to sustain well-being in both aging baby boomers and in children and adolescents.